


Mantle

by FireEye



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Bodyswap, Gen, trope bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-25
Updated: 2013-04-25
Packaged: 2017-12-09 12:08:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/774025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireEye/pseuds/FireEye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's hard enough to protecting one's assets when they aren't walking away from you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mantle

Sebastian shoved her back, out of danger, running for Hawke as the magic exploded around her.  By the time she was back on her feet, mere moments that, the dust had settled, and it was only the three of them, with no sign of the demon to be had.

Coughing in the dust, Hawke stared at Sebastian, who stared at his hands.

“Oh, I like this.”  Sebastian ran his fingers down the planes of his chest plate, venturing further down his sides.  The pure shock evident on his face melted into something more.  “This is simply wonderful.  I’ve wondered what this would be like.”

“Andraste’s-...” her voice cracked, she cleared her throat, twice.  For a long moment, she quizzically studied Sebastian, and his peculiar behavior.  Abruptly, she tore her gaze away, instead glancing down, and her hands clasped over her breasts.  “Oh.”  Her perplexed expression turned sour, and she jerked her hands away.  “ _Oh_.”

Isabela glanced between them.  “Did I miss something?”

~*~

By the time they arrived back in Kirkwall, the sun was high, glistening down over edge of the city walls.  The crowd gave them space, owing to Hawke’s reputation, which Sebastian suddenly found weighing down on him.  Her mantle was heavier than he would have imagined.

“Well, now,” Hawke rolled Sebastian’s shoulders.  “After all that rolling around in the dirt, I think I need a bath.”  She yawned, falsely for emphasis, and waved, wiggling her fingers in dismissing them.  “And a nap.  I’ll meet you at the Black Emporium tonight.”

“I’m glad you seem to be adjusting to our predicament well,” Sebastian said.  He fought back against a shiver, as an otherworldly whisper trailing up his spine.  “But might we not hasten to find a solution to the problem at hand?”

“Are you kidding?” Hawke threw over his shoulder.  “What if it wears off naturally?  I have so many things to do.”

Sebastian watched his body saunter up the path towards Hightown.  Beside him, Isabela crooned in appreciation.  “I never knew your hips could sway like that.”

Sebastian twisted Hawke’s face into an expression of agonized astonishment.  “Neither did I.”

“Tell me, is it putting any fun ideas into your head?”

“Certainly not.”

“Pity.”

The destitute made way for him as he stumbled towards a near wall for support, sinking into shadow.  Isabela crouched by his side, keeping a sharp look out.  Once he had composed himself, his eyes snapped open, focusing on the woman beside him.

“Isabela...  Thank you.”

Her eyes widened, and Isabela scoffed.  “For what?”

Despite his best efforts, Sebastian smiled.  “For not taking every advantage while Hawke is in my body.”

Twisting off her heels, Isabela leaned, back to the wall beside him, and stretched her legs into the street.

“Can’t say I’m not tempted.”

Sebastian laughed, Hawke’s voice strangely thickened.  “The Maker judges not for temptation.  Nor shall I.”

~*~

His hands came down flat on the table, and he scowled.  This, perhaps, should have been the first thing he suspected.

 _Things to do,_ indeed.

“No.”

Those that had gathered around them gave room.  The women on Hawke’s arm disengaged, escaping swiftly lest they fall under the jealous wrath of the would-be _Champion of Kirkwall,_ as Varric was wont to call her.  Sebastian used her reputation against her, though not entirely unjustly.

“Oh,” Hawke’s... _his_ shoulders drooped, and his lips pouted.  Normally, the expression might have swayed him, but it was far less attractive when she was wearing his face.  “but _darling_...”

“No,” Sebastian repeated, circling the table.  He grabbed her by the arm, hauled her to her feet, and made a beeline for the door.

“Hawke, I appreciate your curiosity,” he said, soft and stern.  “But my family already has enough trouble of its own making without any errant bastards you might unintentionally beget.”

 

They stepped into the cold night, and he shoved her ahead of him on the road that would lead them down into the depths of the city.  It was a long walk, and he hesitated to wonder if this might be permanent – if the spell was irreversible, or if Hawke herself would simply ignore him in the pursuit of her fun.

And would it be so horrible, trading the life of a banished noble and all its chains for her freedom?

 _An apostate’s freedom_ , he reminded himself.  For neither of them were free at all.

 

As they neared the alley that led to the dark, abandoned section of the undercity where the Black Emporium was to be found, a man stepped in front of them, crossbow bolt cocked.  “Hello, there.”

The others – there were always others – bled out of the shadows, surrounding them.

Sebastian stopped cold abreast of her, instincts torn.  Did he step in front of Hawke, protecting _her_ , or did he protect himself along with her body.  Beside him, Hawke threw her arm out, instinctively summoning the forces of nature that no longer obeyed her.

The highwaymen fell back, but nothing happened.  The lot of them exchanged glances, and he took the chance to glance at Hawke.

Even in the moonlight, he couldn’t miss the panic in her eyes.

She didn’t know how to fight in his body.  He didn’t know how to summon the untold powers of the Fade that resided in hers.

This was going to be a problem.

Sebastian grabbed for the crossbow, triggering the bolt.  It shot wide, over their heads.  The rest of brigands closed in, and Hawke grabbed his hand, dragging him along behind her as she fled through the abandoned roads.  Pursued as they were, he lost track of the turns, trusting Hawke to know her way.

But the roads were ever shifting.  Instead, she led them into a dead end passage.

“Aw _www_.” She snarled, his voice raising in pitch.  “Who put a wall here?”

Turning back, Sebastian found that they were blocked in.  Two of the bigger brigands rushed them, while the rest hung back to cover any chance of escape.

Sebastian tried to focus, envisioning every time she called the forces of nature to respond to her mere whim.  The ever-present, winnowing forces within him didn’t respond to his efforts.

“ _Hawke_ ,” he spat.  Twisting his opponent’s blade from his hand, and shoving him to the ground.  “How do you...?”  How did one even _say_ it?  “How do you... _use_ magic?”

“I never thought about _it_ ,” she squeaked, narrowly avoiding being run through.  “You simply... You don’t, don’t think, you simply _do_.”

Hawke’s opponent threw her to the wall, and Sebastian felt the twitch of magic respond.  He closed his eyes, wrapping his mind around the sensation.

“I’m sorry.”

The rush of power took him.

 

Mercifully, he would only remember coming back to himself in a alley alight with smoldering fire and smoke, amidst the charred corpses, with Hawke wrapped around him, rocking him gently.

~*~

If one wanted to find knowledge on lost magics, the Black Emporium was the place to go.  Although from the looks of it, neither were having any luck.  While Hawke went through stacks of old, decaying parchment, Sebastian sat at the edge of the scaffolding, staring down into darkness.

“So...” Isabela sidled in beside him, resting her arms on the railing above.  “How is our little problem?  Still unresolved, I see.”

“Nothing as of yet,” Sebastian replied.  He raised his gaze to meet hers.  “Might I beg of you a favor?”

Isabela grinned.  “You can beg, certainly.”

Sebastian met her grin with a wry smile.

“Yes, well... if the worst happens...” he paused, shaking his head.  “What I mean to say is, if we’re stuck this way, could you... teach her?” He nodded towards Hawke.  “How to fight, in my body, I mean.  Maker knows, she’ll need it.”

“You’re not going to be stuck that way,” Isabela said, with a certainty she all at once no longer felt.  Wriggling on her perch, she shrugged.  “But if it makes you feel better, then by all means.  Of course, I can’t promise not to teach her _every_ thing.”

Sebastian laughed.

“If that body is hers now...  then it’s hers.  Along with all that entails.”

“And what about you?”

“I’m... not sure.”  His smile faded from Hawke’s face, and he twined her fingers together on her lap.  “I’m not sure.”


End file.
